FROM

To stop elephant poaching, we must reduce demand by banning the trade in
ivory products, thus reducing poachers’ incentive to kill elephants in
Africa. Fortunately, California’s new law (California Fish and Game Code
Section 2022; formerly Assembly Bill 96), which became effective July 2016,
will help eliminate California’s illegal ivory trade by banning the sale,
offer for sale, possession with intent to sell, and importation with intent
to sell of elephant ivory and rhino horn, and increasing penalties to up to
$50,000 or twice the value of the goods (whichever is greater) and/or one
year in prison.

The Los Angeles Superior Court has upheld California’s ban on trade in
ivory and rhino horn, rejecting claims that the ban was unconstitutional.
The Ivory Education Institute — a group promoting ivory use — challenged the
law in 2016.

The Natural Resources Defense Council, Center for Biological Diversity,
The Humane Society of the United States, International Fund for Animal
Welfare and Wildlife Conservation Society intervened in the lawsuit on
behalf of the state of California to help defend the law, which many of
these groups sponsored in 2015.

“If we want to stop elephants from being slaughtered for their tusks, we
must cut off the markets that cause the demand,” said Elly Pepper, deputy
director of wildlife trade for the Natural Resources Defense Council.

“California’s ivory ban ensures that illegal elephant ivory is not sold
under the guise of legal ivory. Paired with the ivory ban laws in New York,
Hawaii and other states, and with the funding California’s Governor Jerry
Brown recently dedicated towards enforcing this law — we’re confident it’s
going to make a big difference in U.S. demand for elephant ivory and,
ultimately, poaching of elephants in Africa.”

“At current poaching levels, elephants could disappear from Africa in
roughly 20 years,” said Sarah Uhlemann, international program director at
the Center for Biological Diversity. “This decision paves the way for other
states to follow California’s lead to aggressively restrict ivory trade,
giving elephants a fighting chance for a future.”

Said Rebecca Cary, staff attorney for The Humane Society of the United
States:

We are thrilled that the court unequivocally upheld
the constitutionality of A.B. 96 and California's right to legislate for the
elimination of the illegal ivory trade and the preservation of wildlife
Californians care very deeply about.

Said Peter LaFontaine, campaigns manager for the International Fund for
Animal Welfare:

We all have a stake in elephants’ future on this
planet, and states can and should be involved in the fight against poaching
and trafficking. Ivory is worth far less than a living, breathing animal,
and by upholding A.B. 96, California is helping to change the mindset that
biodiversity is a secondary consideration.

Said John Calvelli, executive vice president for public affairs and
director of the 96 Elephants campaign for the Wildlife Conservation Society:

Today, elephants throughout Africa are trumpeting the
decision by the Los Angeles Superior Court to uphold A.B. 96, which
effectively bans the sale of ivory in the state of California. We know that
the only way to effectively end the ivory trade that is fueling the
systematic destruction of elephants throughout Africa is to stop the
killing, stop the trafficking and stop the demand. This means closing all
domestic ivory markets whether it is in Nairobi, Beijing, New York City, Los
Angeles or San Francisco. This court victory is pivotal and we must continue
with the fight to ensure momentum is on the side of the elephants and all
wildlife. WCS and our partners ask all to join a movement for wildlife.

Background

Demand for elephant ivory has skyrocketed in recent years, leading to the
poaching of approximately 35,000 elephants per year for their tusks. African
savanna elephants have declined by 30 percent in the past seven years and,
if current poaching rates continue African forest elephants could be extinct
in less than a decade.

The United States contributes to elephant poaching as a significant
consumer of ivory. California is home to the second largest ivory market in
the nation, behind New York. Up to 90 percent of the ivory for sale in Los
Angeles and approximately 80 percent of the ivory for sale in San Francisco
likely came from relatively recently killed elephants, according to a 2015
NRDC-commissioned undercover investigation of California’s ivory markets.

To stop elephant poaching, we must reduce demand by banning the trade in
ivory products, thus reducing poachers’ incentive to kill elephants in
Africa. Fortunately, California’s new law (California Fish and Game Code
Section 2022; formerly Assembly Bill 96), which became effective July 2016,
will help eliminate California’s illegal ivory trade by banning the sale,
offer for sale, possession with intent to sell, and importation with intent
to sell of elephant ivory and rhino horn, and increasing penalties to up to
$50,000 or twice the value of the goods (whichever is greater) and/or one
year in prison. The law includes limited exemptions for activities,
including transfers of ivory to legal heirs and beneficiaries, antiques
containing less than 5 percent ivory or rhino horn, and musical instruments
that were manufactured in 1975 or earlier and which contain less than 20
percent of ivory or rhino horn.

In addition to California, state ivory bans have been enacted in New
York, Hawaii, New Jersey, Oregon and Washington.

Fair Use Notice: This document, and others on our web site, may contain copyrighted
material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owners.
We believe that this not-for-profit, educational use on the Web constitutes a fair use
of the copyrighted material (as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law).
If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use,
you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.